McIlvanney's Laidlaw trilogy heads for TV

Company Pictures have optioned the TV rights to William McIlvanney's Laidlaw trilogy.

Lisa Selway agreed the deal on behalf of Company Pictures with Rob Kraitt at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates on behalf of Canongate Books.

Stephen Greenhorn (Sunshine on Leith, River City) is attached to write the scripts and McIllvaney is acting as a consultant. Kate Sinclair, who brought the books to Company Pictures, will executively produce with managing director John Yorke.

Company Pictures one of the UK's largest independent film and television drama production companies, whose previous productions include The White Queen. It is currently in-pre production on an adaptation of Man Booker prize winning novel Wolf Hall (Fourth Estate).
Canongate reissued the Laidlaw trilogy earlier this year and has just published McIlvanney’s Whitbread prize winning novel Docherty, voted by the public as one of the 10 Favourite Scottish Novels of the Last 50 Years for Book Week Scotland.

McIlvanney, who is often referred to as 'the father of Tartan Noir', was also named writer of the year at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland awards last night (28th November).

Canongate will be publishing McIlvanney’s literary backlist in January 2014.